SBI Holdings and Shin Nippon Scientific Joint Fund sign partnership agreement with Plug and Play

Plug and Play has entered into a partnership agreement to participate as a co-GP in the joint fund “SBI US Gateway Fund” established in September 2024 by SBI Holdings and Shin Nippon Bioscience.

SBI Holdings and SNBL announced a business alliance regarding the business incubation business in the United States on July 31, 2024, and as part of that, established this joint fund in September 2024. Leveraging the extensive knowledge and experience of the SBI Group and SNBL Group, the joint fund aims to provide capital through investments in early-stage startup companies in North America, with the aim of supporting promising companies from an early stage.

Plug and Play is the world’s largest innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA, and provides startup accelerator programs in over 60 locations around the world, supporting over 5,600 startups and over 30 unicorn companies to date. As a venture capital firm, the company invests in over 250 startups a year and excels in supporting open innovation by connecting large companies with startups. In Japan, the company also supports Japanese entrepreneurs in expanding overseas into Asia, North America, Europe, etc. through its participation in the government-led project “J-StarX.”

By participating in this joint fund, Plug and Play will leverage its extensive global network and innovation expertise to provide guidance and support to the investee companies, thereby contributing to providing strategic growth opportunities to the investee companies.

In addition, on the premise of participating in this joint fund, Plug and Play will establish its first bases in the Seattle area of ​​the United States at two locations: SNBL Global Gateway (SGG)*, a business incubation facility established in Washington by the SBI Group and the SNBL Group, and at the University of Washington, and will begin offering startup acceleration programs for Japanese and American startups. Through this initiative, Plug and Play will achieve expansion into the Seattle area, and the SBI Group and SNBL Group believe that it will lead to increased customer attraction for incubation facilities and an expanded presence in the US venture market.

Plug and Play, the SBI Group, and the SNBL Group will continue to strive to discover new business opportunities in the U.S. market and actively contribute to nurturing next-generation industries and the development of the global biotechnology and drug discovery ecosystem.

Overview of the Joint Fund

• Name: SBI US Gateway Fund
• Fund size: US$40 million
• Investment targets: Early stage startups mainly in North America
• Target business areas: A wide range of innovative technologies and services expected to be growth industries in the future, such as AI, advanced manufacturing, climate tech, supply chain, as well as the healthcare field including biotechnology and drug discovery
• Investment region: North America
• Fund characteristics: In addition to providing capital to investee companies from the joint fund, the fund also has the function of supporting the growth of investee companies in collaboration with a business incubation business that provides support for research and development and business growth

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